Staff Profiles

Chris Faircloth

Involved in production engineering at PTWL, Chris shares responsibility for the purchasing, ordering, manufacture and assembly of the company’s products and solutions, as well as customer liaison and technical support

Having started in quality control while in the cement industry in the United Kingdom, Chris moved to process optimisation and process engineering early in his career.

His meticulous eye for detail and his methodical approach to the way things work, means he brings exacting standards to PWTL’s products and services.

“If equipment is manufactured to a certain standard you can expect a certain result from it, so it is important that there is no compromise on those exacting standards. Then we can say ‘yes, it will achieve the result that we say it will’,” says Chris.

His track record and expertise in process optimisation is ideally suited to helping customers get the very best from their wire mill processes and production.

Originally from North Wales in the UK, Chris lives with his wife in Auckland.

Peter Lucas

As part of a small team, project engineer Peter Lucas has a number of responsibilities, from design and production planning to supervising the manufacturing, installation and commissioning of PWTL’s wire mill solutions.

Involved in the wire industry from mill level to consultation for almost a decade, Peter is uniquely qualified for his role because he has a background in both electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering.

While at university he was apprenticed as a mechanical engineer, but upon completing his studies he worked in electrical and electronic engineering in the sorting and packing industry.

“For the past 17 years my work has always been around production engineering, and I’ve found that understanding the interface between the electrical and mechanical aspects is a unique advantage,” says Peter.

His previous roles have been with Wedderburn Scales, Pacific Wire and PWTL.

As such he is responsible for travelling to customer sites around the world to install and commission the equipment, as well as training and technical support.

Having worked in countries like China, Japan, Korea, the United States, Australia, South Africa and Malaysia, he brings a good understanding of how things work, and how business is conducted, in those countries.

Peter is born in New Zealand and lives in Auckland with his family.

Neil Spencer, Managing Director

Managing Director of PWT Ltd Neil Spencer has more than 12 years wire and rod experience and is a qualified engineer.

Neil regularly works with wire mills to provide a complete assessment and review of their wire manufacture processes as well as implementing the necessary changes to achieve quantifiable results.

Neil is also trained and experienced in the latest manufacturing and problem solving techniques.

Neil is born in United Kingdom and now lives with his wife and family in Auckland, New Zealand.

Murray Urquhart, Director

Director Murray Urquhart is unique in the engineering world because he is an expert in both mechanical and electrical engineering and, as such, has vast experience in helping customers in developing galvanising plants from start to finish.

“From the time that the customer tells us what he wants, I will visit the site, look at where they are going to put the equipment, design the equipment according to the customer’s requirements, make recommendations based on the available options, design the process, oversee manufacturing of equipment and lead both the installation and commissioning of the plant.

“The customer has an option to work with us during the plant development or we can provide them with a total solution,” says Murray.

Murray is involved with the customer all the way to the end and can usually be found on site where he is able to directly and personally address the customer’s issues and concerns.

“I also help with parts of the project that we are not responsible for, but is still integral to the whole operation – not many people do that,” says Murray.

Murray’s electrical expertise also enables him to assist clients with their high voltage needs and advice.

In the wire industry since 1978, Murray usually spends about three months in New Zealand and more than two-thirds of his time based in Asia.